Citation (AI Search)

In plain words

In the context of AI search, a citation happens when an AI system like Google's AI Overviews, ChatGPT, or Perplexity references or links to your website as the source behind a generated answer. Earning citations is the central goal of Answer Engine Optimization (AEO), since it's how brands gain visibility inside AI-generated responses rather than traditional blue links.

Example

Perplexity answers “what is a growth partner for B2B websites” and lists your insight as source [1], with a link to the page.

Glossary
Answer Engine Optimization
Answer Engine Optimization. Optimizing your site so AI answer engines can read, trust and quote it.
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FAQ
What is AEO and does my site need it?
AEO (answer engine optimization) makes your content easy for ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews to read and quote. If people ask AI about your category, yes — we build it into every Webflow site we ship.
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Glossary
Direct Answer Optimization
Direct answer optimization means structuring content to directly answer a question in the first sentence.
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FAQ
Does AEO Work the Same Way Across ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews?
The fundamentals overlap — clear, well-structured, authoritative answers perform better everywhere — but each platform sources differently. Perplexity leans heavily on live web content and citations, ChatGPT draws partly from training data and partly from browsing when enabled, and Google AI Overviews pulls largely from pages that already rank well organically. Practically, this means strong technical SEO and structured content still matter, but so does keeping content fresh and citable across the open web.
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Insight
SEO and AEO for Luxury and Professional Firms
Why luxury brands and professional services firms need SEO and AEO built on branded search, citable expertise and trust signals, not e-commerce keywords.
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Insight
How to Write Copy AI Answer Engines Can Quote
A practical guide to writing website copy that ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews can extract, attribute to your brand and cite.
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Next step

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Engraving of a jungle panorama with mountains — Inspired by Tulum, QROO, MX

Answer Engine Optimization

What is AEO and does my site need it?

Direct Answer Optimization

Does AEO Work the Same Way Across ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews?

SEO and AEO for Luxury and Professional Firms

How to Write Copy AI Answer Engines Can Quote

Let's talk